You are very welcome! It was fun to make. My daughter came in half-way through and I put the "I don't cook" chickie to work. She may not cook, but her kindergarten playdough skills are still intact. LOL

I cut it as close to the shape that I needed as I could. Since I also sew, I was able to visualize what the piece would look like flat. All that would be great if it worked. LOL

Make sure your fondant is nice and soft and the heat from your hands should do the rest.

Cut out the shape you need as close as you can. For the heart neckline, that would be the top part of heart in the middle of the piece, the bottom is a straight cut. On each side of the heart shape are more straight lines. The piece will have to be joined in the back- just like any dress.

Just keep smoothing and even slice away a little bit if you need to. As long as the fondant is soft enough and your hands are warm enough, the cut should meld back together with a little coaxing.

Question: Do people cut their own pattern for the dresses or use a cutter and make two sides?

I think they make their own. I know I did. The skirt is just a circle. You could scallop the outside of the circle, which is the hem of the dress, if you want. The top could be the sweetheart neckline, v-neck, or straight across. You could add little strips for straps. The possibilities are almost endless.

To help with the skirt, you could use a bowl approximately the circumference you need and trace around it. Remember that the skirt falls in folds so perfection with the length isn't necessary.

cheatize - I meant fondant when I said icing. I was hoping I could apply the bodice the same way I applied the top bit - as one bit with no seams but if the fondant is soft enough the seams shouldnt be entirely visible.

cheatize -- I was wondering. I am going to make a baby shower cake and was considering doing one to the side of the cake. Putting a baby dress either lying down or on a stand. I have sewn in the past and can visualize it somewhat, but doing it freehand is another. I plan to practice some before August. For me the wedding dress would be easier. I am visualizing a gathered dress with puffy sleeves for a baby girl.

The typing paper sounds like a great idea! txnonnie: Are the gathers right at the top of the bodice or will they start at the waist? Hmm, what doll pick could you use for that? I'm thinking the breasts might still be too obvious even if the gathers are at the top. Not sure headless baby would be the best way to go either, LOL Is there a baby pick out there I don't know about? I love the whole idea and can see you starting a new trend in shower cakes with this idea. I think to puff the sleeves you'd make a shape that's rounded on the top, straight across the bottom, and the top would be wider than the bottom. To get it to look puffed you could build up fondant on that area of the arm underneath the sleeve piece- kind of like muscles.

Wonder if I could try taking the boobs off and plugging the holes..??[/quote]You see its also possible to form the upper body freehand without using the wilton doll pick so that way you can form a flat chested torso LOL for your baby dress without vandalising a doll. I actually do freehand like the cinderella cake in my pictures and then continue just as cheatize did in her tutorial(great tutorial cheatize and hilarious ) I'll try to put up some step by step pics tommorrow to give you an idea of how doing it looks like.

txnonnie- if you hack off the boobs, you've got take pictures! LOL LOL LOL

Perhaps a trip to the dollar store for a small baby figure would work? Hack it off where needed, stick a skewer in it, and stick it in the cake.

If you pleat or smock it, you may run into bunching problems at the waist. I don't know if it's possible to take tweezers and just sort of smock the top of the fondant piece but not the underside. If so, that may keep it from bunching at the bottom.

cheatize - I meant fondant when I said icing. I was hoping I could apply the bodice the same way I applied the top bit - as one bit with no seams but if the fondant is soft enough the seams shouldnt be entirely visible.

I'm not sure I answered this so I'm going to give it a go here:

If there are no sleeves, I think it would work. You'd have to have at least one hole for the neck to poke through, though.

For those who are having trouble shaping the bodice: if it won't soften enough to form tightly, don't be afraid to try cutting a seam here and there. To me, it would add to the authenticity. Go in your closet, pull out a cotton or cotton blend ladies shirt. If it's a fitted shirt, odds are it has seams in one of 2 places: at the bust line, or at the waist line. Those seams are darts and they are put in there so the fabric eases at those points so the side seams can be tighter and therefore make the shirt more form-fitting. If cutting is too scary, try folding a bit of fondant under- for reference, you can look at the shirt from the closet from the back side of the material and you'll see what looks like a tall triangle of material where the dart was made.

If you don't like it, you can always take it off, smoosh it up, and go back to the first method.

Another thought: grab a Barbie shirt for a pattern. I bet it the right size for the pick.

Instead of the Wilton doll pick, go to the dollar store and buy a fake Barbie. Break it apart at the waist and remove the head and arms.Add a dowel where the pick should be. I have done it you can't tell the difference. Much cheaper too. For a baby, look at the dollar store as well for a tiny babie doll.

Awww, how cute is that? Did you get lots of oohs and awwws and how did you do thats? I bet you did!

Great job getting it figured out. Was it really hard once you got going?

Now I just need to figure out what MTOB means. oOo Mother to be! Derrr.

Lovely cake! You should be proud. I bet it's the only one like it. Hmm, you could market that. Bet it could be a niche market for you....

Thanks! Not really. Once I figured out how to make the doll work it went pretty well. The legs were not removable from the body. I ended up cutting from the waist down off the doll. I think I had more trouble with the baby bed than anything.